areabsorbing so much heat, which feeds
hurricanes and storms. It’s becoming a very
angryocean.Arethe polar regions difficult to work in?
Thegear has become much better. Batteries
arebetter. Equipment doesn’t really fail when
it’scold anymore. But working in remote
areas,the politics are very difficult, especially
intheArctic, because there are so many
indigenous communities, so many industrial
interests. The Arctic’s in a lot of trouble.
We’regoing to focus a lot on the Arctic. It’s
changing so fast, it’s terrifying.Yourphoto of an emaciated, starving
polarbear, taken in the Arctic, was seen
around the world and became a symbol
ofclimate change. Was it hard to take?
Yes.The point I was trying to make is that it’s
easyto digest the notion that polar bears willWearecurrentlyintheprocessof
revampingthatplatform.Wehavejust
teamedupwithtwootherorganisations,
LonelyWhaleFoundationandBlueSphere
Foundation.We’regoingtorelaunchinMay
withanewname,andwewillbefocusedon
thesejourneys:tocreatemarineprotected
areas,tosaveanimalsfromextinction...We’re
goingtoprovidepeoplewithopportunitiesto
participate.Wetellastoryofhowwe’regoing
tocombinethemillionsofpeoplewhocare,
actingtogethertomakeahugedifference.You’vebeenworkinginconservation
for 25 years.Whatexamplesofclimate
changehaveyouseen?
I’veseeniteverywhere,fromGreenland,
wherehunterscannolongertravelon
sledsbecausetheiceissounstable,tothe
Bahamas,wherewewenttodocumentthe
devastationofHurricaneDorian.OuroceansIfwe’regoingtosolvethebigissuesofour
planet,weneedeverybodytoparticipate.Theproliferationofdevicesandphotos
alsomeanspeoplecanbeoverwhelmed.
Whatdoesittaketostandout?
WhenyoumakeittothepagesofNational
Geographicmagazine,youknowyou’reone
ofthebestintheworld.Tocutthroughthat
clutterofmediocrephotography,youhave
toproduceimagesthataremoreimpactful,
morebeautiful,moreuniquethantherest.Doyouuseyourphotostohighlight
issuesandareasthatneedprotecting?
Yes,butwetakeitonestepfurther.Wehave
aplatformwherewetakepeopleonajourney.
Weshowthemwhat’sbeautifulandspecial,
thenshowthemthere’saproblem.Butmore
importantlyyouhavetoshowthemthere’san
opportunitytoactandasolution.© Cristina Mittermeier © Cristina Mittermeier
© Cristina Mittermeier
INTERVIEW